Recent P&O Cruises alcohol policy changes raised many questions about booze onboard cruise ships. Can passengers bring alcohol before embarkation or booze purchased during port visits?
Rustourismnews.com created a comprehensive list of alcohol policies for the most popular cruise lines. Our favorite cruise line from this list is Oceania Cruises which allows 6 bottles per room! Cheers!
Main Cruise Lines Alcohol Policies:
Royal Caribbean Alcohol Policy
Guests are not allowed to bring beer or hard liquor onboard for consumption or any other use onboard. On embarkation day, each guest of drinking age may bring one (1) sealed 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne.
Alcoholic beverages (beer, seltzer, or hard liquor) seized on embarkation day will be returned at the end of the voyage provided that they are in the original sealed package. Security may inspect containers and will dispose of containers holding alcohol. Boxed wine and other containers are prohibited. Guests who purchase alcohol bottles onboard, in a port-of-call, or bring more than one permitted bottle on boarding day, will have their items safely stored by the ship. These bottles will be returned on the last day onboard for enjoyment once home.
Guests must be 18 years or older to visit Hideaway Beach and 21 years or older to purchase and consume alcohol anywhere at Perfect Day at CocoCay, including Hideaway Beach.
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Celebrity Cruises Alcohol Policy
Guests are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages onboard except on embarkation day when each guest (of legal drinking age) is permitted to bring onboard one 750 ml bottle of wine (which is subject to a corkage fee) per guest.
Security may inspect containers at any time and will dispose of alcohol concealed in such containers. Alcoholic beverages purchased from onboard shops or in ports of call (which must be presented to security upon re-boarding), will be secured by ship’s personnel. Alcohol secured by the ship’s personnel will be returned to guests just before the conclusion of their cruise vacation.
A guest must be at least 21 years old to drink and/or possess alcoholic beverages on ships sailing from North America or the United Arab Emirates, and 21 is also the minimum drinking age for guests visiting our private destinations. The minimum age for a guest to drink and/or possess alcoholic beverages on ships sailing from South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand is 18. In all other cases, the drinking age of the home port shall determine the legal drinking age for the sailing.
Lindblad Expeditions Alcohol Policy
Alcohol is available on the ship for purchase and you’ll have the opportunity to taste craft beers and local wines on board. The drinking age aboard the ship is 21.
Princess Cruises Alcohol Policy
Guests of Princess Cruises are permitted to bring one 750ml bottle of wine or champagne on board per voyage, which will not be subject to a corkage fee if consumed in your stateroom. Additional wine or champagne bottles are welcome with a US$20/AU$30 corkage fee each, irrespective of where they are intended to be consumed.
Liquor, spirits, or beers are not permitted. The luggage will be scanned and alcohol outside of our policy will be removed and discarded. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased duty-free from The Shops of Princess, or at ports of call, will be collected for safekeeping and delivered to the guest’s stateroom on the last day of the cruise.
The age for drinking on Princess ships is 21 years old except on cruises between Australia/New Zealand, China, Europe, Singapore, and South American ports where the drinking age will be 18 years old. For cruises between Japanese ports, the drinking age will be 20 years old.
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Costa Cruises Alcohol Policy
It is not possible to bring any drinks on board that were purchased on land. If they are local products bought during a port stop, you can leave them with Costa Security staff and collect them at the end of the cruise.
The minimum drinking age onboard is 21 years old for cruises departing from U.S. ports and 18 years old for cruises departing from non-U.S. ports.
Seabourn Alcohol Policy
Seabourn has a significant amount of Epicurean Collection tours that may take you to a winery, distillery, or other venue where you can purchase alcoholic beverages. You are free to bring those back to the ship and no corkage fees apply.
Persons under 21 years of age are not permitted to consume alcohol.
Cunard Alcohol Policy
You may bring one bottle per person of wine or champagne on board no larger than 750ml. However, if you wish to consume it in any of the dining rooms, alternative restaurants, or bars then each bottle will be subject to a corkage fee of $25.00 (fee subject to change). There is no corkage fee if it is consumed in your suite or stateroom. Wine and champagne gifts purchased via the Cunard Gift Collection are exempt from the corkage fee – please show your gift card to your waiter.
Guests who are under 18 years of age are not permitted to purchase or consume alcohol on board. However, whilst in U.S. waters, Cunard enforces and abides by the U.S. legal drinking age of 21 years.
Fred Olsen Alcohol Policy
Guests are not permitted to bring their alcoholic beverages on board and only alcohol purchased on board may be consumed. Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines reserves the right to inspect containers at any time. Alcohol that is purchased as duty-free onboard or in ports of call (which must be presented to security upon re-boarding), will be held until the last night of the cruise and returned to the guest.
Carnival Alcohol Policy
Wine or champagne beyond the allowable limit of one 750 ml bottle per adult. Port, Vermouth, Sherry, and other fortified wines cannot be brought on board even within the allowable limit. Hard liquor and beer are prohibited.
A $15 corkage fee, per 750 ml bottle, will be charged should guests wish to consume their wine or champagne in the main dining room, specialty restaurant, or bar.
Persons under 21 years of age are not permitted to consume alcohol.
Azamara Alcohol Policy
You may bring your favorite liquor, beer, or wine for private consumption in your suite or stateroom. If you wish to consume your liquor, beer, or wine in any shipboard restaurant, bar, or dining venue, each bottle is subject to a corkage fee of $10.
The minimum drinking age for all alcoholic beverages on all four Azamara ships sailing from North America is 21. However, on ships sailing from Europe, Asia, South America and Australia and New Zealand, where the legal drinking age is lower than 21, the minimum drinking age onboard is 18.
Disney Cruise Line Alcohol Policy
Disney Cruise Line Guests 21 years and older may bring a maximum of 2 bottles of unopened wine or champagne (no larger than 750 ml) or 6 beers (no larger than 12 ounces) on board at the beginning of the voyage and at each port of call. These beverages must be packed in carry-on (not checked) bags or luggage.
Guests wishing to consume wine or champagne that they have brought on board in one of the dining rooms will be charged a corking fee of $27.00 per bottle.
Any wine or champagne in excess of 2 bottles or beer in excess of 6 beers is prohibited and must be discarded prior to entry and no compensation is offered. Liquors or spirits or excess wine and beer purchased in ports of call will be stored until the end of the cruise.
Holland America Line Alcohol Policy
Guests are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages on board for consumption or any other use, except in the following cases:
Guests are welcome to bring wine and champagne on board, however a $20 corkage fee (subject to change without notice) will apply to each bottle (maximum 750ml or less). Limitations apply. Wine brought in quantities considered excessive by the vessel or for security reasons will be rejected.
Wine purchased during company-sponsored shore excursions visiting local wineries is exempt from the onboard corkage fee (offer limited to one bottle of wine per person).
All checked and carry-on baggage will be scanned, and any prohibited items, including alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages, will be removed, confiscated, and discarded.
Alcoholic beverages will not be served to those under 21 years of age.  However, the legal drinking age on board will be 18 years for voyages beginning and ending in Europe, China, Hong Kong, Singapore or Taiwan, and the legal drinking age on board will be 20 years old for voyages that begin and end in Japan.
MSC Cruises Alcohol Policy
At embarkation, no alcoholic beverages are allowed to be brought onboard. All alcohol purchases brought in from the port or liquor purchased in the ships’ duty-free shops will be held for safekeeping and delivered to passengers’ staterooms on the cruise’s last evening.
The drinking age is 21 on U.S. and Caribbean itineraries and 18 on all others.
Norwegian Cruises Alcohol Policy
Except for Wine and Champagne, all guests are prohibited from bringing alcohol on board our ships. If you purchase any alcohol at one of the ports of call or in onboard shops, the cruise line will store your purchase and either on the final night of the cruise or the morning of debarkation, it will be available for pick up in a designated area.
The corkage fee is $15.00 and $30.00 for magnum.
Passengers must be 21 years of age or older to purchase or consume alcohol.
Windstar Cruises Alcohol Policy
Passengers are allowed to bring aboard two bottles of wine or champagne (750ml) per cabin for their enjoyment on board for a 7-day Cruise or three bottles for an 8-day (or longer) Cruise. Passengers may consume these permitted outside beverages in public areas on the ship, but a corkage fee (approximately US$15 + 18% gratuity) will be applied to the Passenger’s onboard account.
All additional outside alcohol (meaning wine, beer and/or hard alcohol) including alcohol purchased at ports of call along the Cruise route, will be kept by the ship’s staff and delivered to the Passenger’s cabin on the last evening of the Cruise.
Crystal Cruises Alcohol Policy
You may bring your own nonalcoholic or alcoholic drinks aboard. Please note that certain restrictions apply by country or destination.
Oceania Cruises Alcohol Policy
The limit is 6 bottles per stateroom. The exception is the world cruises for which we will allow up to 60 bottles per stateroom, however, this only applies to guests who are booked on the full world cruise or any of the variations of the full world cruise. Any wine consumed in the dining room or a public area will be subject to a corkage fee of $25.00 per bottle.
The sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages will be limited to guests aged 21 years or older. Guests who are 18 – 20 years of age can purchase and consume beer or wine when the ship is in international waters (3 miles out of US territorial waters, including in the Caribbean) with the consent of an accompanying parent.
The most generous policy among all cruise lines alcohol policies!
Viking Alcohol Policy
Guests may bring alcohol and beverages with them, purchase alcohol ashore at destinations that sell alcohol, or purchase them from the onboard shop. Alcohol can be consumed in the guest’s stateroom or in public spaces, including the restaurants. There is no corkage fee.
Virgin Voyages Alcohol Policy
Alcoholic beverages, hard liquor, spirits, and beer are not permitted to be brought on board, except for two 750mL bottles of wine per cabin in carry-on bags.
Any alcohol in checked luggage will be collected on embarkation and returned once the voyage is complete.
The drinking age in international waters is 18, in the United States it’s 21, and in other ports, we’ll go with whatever their country’s laws specify.
Hurtigruten Alcohol Policy
Guests who wish to bring bottles of wine and/or spirits aboard Santa Cruz II only will be charged a corkage fee of US $ 27+ taxes.
Any alcoholic beverages purchased in ports-of-call will be confiscated at the gangway and need to be stored separately on board the ship by our crew. Your purchases will be returned to you and delivered to your cabin on the last day of your sailing.
